Pages

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Fourteen... and counting

#1. I am in love with these buttons. They make me smile.... plain and simple. I bought a bunch of them about a year ago, & I used a couple on a project back then. As I was knitting this project, I wondered what buttons I might use. It was a clear match when I was looked through my button stash (yes, that is correct. I am cheating on my yarn stash with a button stash... please do not tell my fabric stash about the buttons and the yarn). Don't you agree that these buttons really suit the rustic nature of this yarn?

#2. I am in love with Brioche stitch. I was all up in my head over it for a month or so. I wanted to knit this pattern, I read the pattern, and it didn't sound like the Brioche stitch that I had heard people bitching and complaining about all these years. So I pulled out my Barb Walker books, did some online research and found that the pattern is actually written for Fisherman's Rib, which from what I also understand is very similar, if not identical in appearance to Brioche. One and one half dozen the other... or something like that. So the one consistent thing that I found in all of my glorious research is that everyone does Brioche stitch a little differently... or that there are many variations on Brioche stitch. So being the good little over-analyzer that I am... I let my brain stew and cook... bubble bubble, toil and BLAH. I cast on and gave it a feeble attempt. Even though I knew that it wasn't that difficult and that I have done more complicated things... it was still too much for my brain. So I just put the whole idea of this super fun and quick painless project aside. LAME. Last week my neck was cold and I really wanted to work with this yarn.So I went back to this one website... it made the most sense and was overly thorough... which i like. As usual, once I just climb down out of my head (a scary and confusing place) and just do it... anything is not only possible, but pretty damn easy... and fun. I was concerned about the edges so I chose a Brioche stitch with a selvedge stitch. There were three to choose from on this site. I went with the one labeled "my favorite". It sounded like a good choice. And a good choice it was. The stitch is really cool, so thick and dense, but it still has a touch of drape. I had so much fun knitting this scarf that I wanted to knit another.For a a little over a month now I had been wanting to put the Lamb's Pride colors, Sunburst Gold and Rosado Rose together. I was obsessed with it. I would look at the two skeins everyday. I went out and got some sunburst Gold in worsted so that I would have the two in the same weight. I had worked with the Sunburst gold in the Prairie Boot pattern that i did a couple of months ago, and had the left overs laying out on the craft table. Rosado Rose is one of my all time favorite pinks and it's always laying around. The two were destined to be together... but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to make with them... stripes are awesome, I love stripes... but it didn't feel like a stripey project that I was after. Holding the two colors together was the path that I was on. For this pattern two strands of worsted would not be thick enough, I would have to add a third strand. Frank Ochre, of course. It was a gorgeous mix. I cast on. I knit. Two hours later I had a Fourteen finished for my friend Sunnie who was visiting from out of town.The first version is with Malabrigo Aquarella in the color Palamar. Needle size 13. Cast on 15 stitches. This yarn is super slubby. I am very happy with the end result but after knitting the second scarf in the lamb's pride mixture I realized that super slubby yarn does NOT showcase the Brioche stitch. The second version is with the above mentioned worsted weight yarns, size 13 needle, and cast on 11 stitches. I used the same selvedge edge stitch for both... in the secondthough you can really see the rolled edge and the details of the brioche stitch. I think I may have to replicate Sunnie's version to keep for myself.

2 comments:

Very pretty! I too tried to cast on for the fourteen pattern and had to put it down after I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I'll have to give that website you recommended another go...I really love the way the pattern turned out with your colours!